Red Sonja: The 13th Sign of the Zodiac Part Seven -Virgo By DeannaTroi This is a work of fiction. It contains adult material of a sexual nature and should not be read by anyone under the age of18. All characters depicted in sexual situations are 18 or older. Red Sonja does not belong to me especially since I could never defeat her in battle. I think Marvel is under the mistaken impression they own her. All other characters in this story are my own creation and please feel free to make use of them in your own stories. You can send all feedback to: troi@hotmail.com Red Sonja was surprised when she emerged from the gateway in her normal physical form rather than as a voyeur to some unfolding vision or drama. She also found herself in the middle of a battle, though it wasn't hard for her to identify who her enemy was as there were several dozen of the green scaled snake men clustered around a figure that Sonja could not see clearly. It never occured to Sonja to avoid this fight. She was more than a little angry at her treatment by Leonis and here was something she could take that anger out on. With a blood curdling war cry, Sonja drew her sword and charged the circle of snake men. Half a dozen of the attackers fell before the remaining snake men realized they were now facing two opponents. As some of them turned their back on their first opponent, they were cut down by blasts of magical energy. Then when they whipped around to try and defend themselves against those blasts, the merciless sword of Red Sonja cut them down. When it was all over, there were only Sonja and the intended victim of the snake men still standing among piles of corpses. As Sonja sheathed her sword, she got her first real good look at the other being who was a tall dark haired woman and while Sonja was untouched, the other woman had her hand pressed to her side where blood flowed from what appeared to be a deep wound. The woman tottered over to a large mound of freshly turned ground and sank down to a sitting position as Sonja hurried over to her. "That wound looks nasty," said Sonja kneeling down and rooting in her pack for something to bandage it with. "It is bad, but I will live," said the woman flashing Sonja a brief grin. "I still would have defeated those foul minions, but your intervention made that task much easier and I thank you for that." "You're welcome," replied Sonja as she produced a clean cloth and began to bind the woman's wound with it. The cloth was soon stained red, but the flow of blood seemed to have stopped which Sonja found amazing for such a deep wound. "My name is Red Sonja," she said, her bandaging done as she sat back facing the woman. "I am Hecate," said the woman and she frowned slightly when this seemed to bring no glimmer of recognition from Sonja. Hecate looked more closely at Sonja and then nodded her head as if in sudden understanding. "Ah, I perceive you are a traveler out of your time and space and know naught my name, so I shall take no offence. I do not think, however, that your appearance here is a coincidence." Sonja shrugged. "I am the avatar of my Goddess, whose name is not spoken though her passion is the defence of women from abuse and rape. Her sister goddess is Clitoria and I was working on her behalf to find who had been killing her acolytes. I was approached by the entity known as Gemini who told me the same foe was attacking the realms of the Zodiac though Gemini did not know the identity of this enemy. I have been travelling to the realms of the Zodiac to try and learn more about this enemy and have several times encountered these snake men. I have also found myself part of some type of visions that seem to be recounting the origin of the constellations of the Zodiac. This is the first time, however, that the snake men have been part of the vision, if that is what this is." "That is indeed a strange tale," replied Hecate, "but I have heard stranger. I do not have the wisdom of Athena to fully unravel the mystery of your story. This is not a vision, but it is something from your future and perhaps yourpast as well." "That bitch Hera said something similar,"responded Sonja. "Something about time being not a straight line between the past , present and future. It made no sense to me. I am a warrior, not some wizened old scholar." "Hera?" asked Hecate. "I wonder how she is involved in this, though by your words she is no friend of yours." "Hardly," agreed Sonja. "I am not sure she is directly involved. She seemed more concerned with her own affairs and paid no heed to my attempts to warn her of a peril that might threaten her and the rest of the gods." "What more of this peril can you tell me?" asked Hecate. "I am here on a mission from Zeus himself and perhaps he will listen to a warning from me, if not from you." "I am not sure he listens to anything but his dick," replied Sonja. "I tried to give him the same warning, but he brushed it aside as did Hera. As to the nature of the peril, I onlyknow that Leonis is involved and the snake men are the minions of an ally of his. They seek to conquer the realms of the Zodiac and he strongly hinted that he didn't plan to stop there and will target the gods as well." "An ambitious plan," commented Hecate. ""Stiill, the current gods of this time and place once overthrew those who came before them and imprisoned them in deepest Tartarus, so ther is precedent." "The gods of this time and place are unknown to me," said Sonja."I don't owe them anything and certainly have found no fondness for Zeus and Hera. My only common cause with them is that whoever is behind these snake men is the enemy of us both. What mission of Zeus is it that brings you here?" Hecate gestured to the mound of earth she was seated against and now Sonja saw it was piled about a deep hole leading into the boweles of the earth. "Hades, god of the underworld and brother of Zeus, has kidnaped fair Persephone. I was charged to retrieve her from his domain and return her to the land above ground. I was about to descend into the passage to the underworld that Hades left when I was attacked by those foul creatures." Hermes was to have met me here to go with me and I find it both passing strange and worrying that he has not come as I know nothing that can hinder him in his travels." "What will you do now?" asked Sonja. "I do not know," admitted Hecate. "I will recover from this wound,but it will take time and that is a quantity I do not have in abundance. If Persephone should eat or drink anything whilst in the realm of Hades, then she will never be able to leave it. If that should happen then the world of mortals will suffer as Persephone is the bringer of spring to the world. There will be great famines and much death." "Then I guess someone else is going to have to go retrieve her," said Sonja with a sigh. "I mean no ofence Red Sonja," replied Hecate, "but you are a mere mortal and retrieving Persephone is a task that mighty Zeus has assigned two gods to accomplish." Sonja looked around the empty landscape. "Well, I don't see this Hermes or anyone else for that matter, so it appears to be me or nobody." Hecate sighed. "I fear you are right." "Great heroes have travelled to Hades in the past and returned, so mayhap you will be able to do the same. If you succeed, I shall see to it that many songs are sung of your deeds." * * * Sonja followed the impromtu tunnel down into the depths of the Earth and since she was Red Sonja, she didn't eye the dirt packed walls at all nervously as if afraid they might collapse and entomb her. Well, if they do, she thought, I won't have far to go to reach the underworld. Despite her bravado, Sonja gave a sigh of relief when she exited the tunnel and stepped into a large stone walled cavern where a broad body of water blocked her path forward. Sonja paced up and down the near shore for an hour looking for some way to cross without touching the water which she knew instinctively was not a good idea. Now and then she caught sight of a flitting shadow out of the corner of an eye and those sent chills down her back. These were the dead who had not been able to cross the water and find rest. Sonja was just thinking she might be doomed to wander along with these dead for eternity when she heard the sound of something on the water and peering into the dimness, she saw a stooped old man poling a boat towards the near shore. "Ho old man," called Sonja. "Can I get a lift to the other side?" The man regarded Sonja silently from under his hood for several seconds before speaking. "I am Charon," he said. "It is my duty to ferry the dead across the river Styx. You are not dead. I have never met anyone deceased with tits such as yours that bounce and jiggle with every step." "I have the fare," said Sonja reaching into her purse and pulling out a small copper coin and ignoring the crack about her boobs. "That is the fare fore the dead," said Charon dismissively. "I demand a different price from the living." "And what would that be?" asked Sonja suspiciously. * * * A few minutes later, Sonja lay naked in the prow of the boat while Charon used his pole to move the boat through the water as he leered down at her. "Get on with it girl," commanded Charon. Sonja sighed and started first to play with her breasts, squeezing and groping them before moving on to play with her nipples until they were fully erect. "Those nipples are a dangerous weapon," snickered Charon as a bulge formed in his robe. "They could easily poke the eye out of a satyr or nymph who got too close." Sonja didn't say anything, but moved her hands down between her legs to gently stroke and rub her pussy lips and clit until a soft moan of pleasure escaped her full lips. "Let me see you put your fingers inside you," ordered Charon. Sonja shot the boatman a dirty look, but cmplied, spreading her netherlips with one hand and plunging a finger inside her moist pussy with the other. After a minute of diddling herself with one finger and stretching her pussy a bit, she added a second finger and then a minute later she added a third. "Let's see if you can get your entire hand in there girl," snickered Charon as his bulge continued to grow. "Bastard," muttered Sonja and with a grunt got a fourth finger inside her and finally a fifth. She made her hand into a fist then and began to pump it in and out with increasing speed. They were nearing the far shore when Sonja threw her head back and screamed out an orgasm that echoed off the walls of the cavern. "And I thought Aphrodite was a slut," laughed Charon. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show," growled Sonja as she began to reach for her armour. "This paid your fare across," said Charon, "but would you like to earn your return fare? You heroes are often in a hurry on the way back, so paying in advance might be to your benefit." "What exactly do you want?" asked Sonja who knew she wouldn't like it. "Just this," said Charon as the boat bumped into the far shore. He pulled up his robe and Sonja saw the cock that had been making such an impressive bulge. It was dripping precum from the tip and Charon began to stroke it frantically while staring down at the still naked Sonja. "Give me a target,"the ferryman commanded. Grimacing, Sonja cupped her breasts and held them out to the old man. A few moments later a jet of thick, warm cum splattered onto her boobs. Charon continued to stroke his cock and sent half a dozen blasts of his semen over Sonja's tits before he let his robe fall back down again. "Have a nice day in Hades," he told Sonja as she climbed out of the boat after having dressed. She didn't dare touch the water to rinse off the cum, so she felt it drying on her skin as she walked away from the Styx. * * * Sonja crossed a narrow beach of black sand and saw a large opening in the rock face with a creature crouched in front of it. Hecate had told her what to expect and this creature posed a problem for the swordswoman. Cerebus, the three headed dog who guarded the entrance to Hades was normally tasked with keeping the residents in, but undoubtably with the kidnapping of Persephone, he would be on guard against any would be rescuers. Cerebus was certainly a formidable opponent as he was the largest dog that Sonja had ever encountered, standing with the top of his back level with herneck and then there were those three heads with rows of sharp teeth. the eyes of the beast burned red and vipers darted in and out from its nostrils like flickering tongues. The problem was that Sonja couldn't kill the beast. She was Red Sonja of course, so she was certain in her ability to kill it, but Hecate had stressed the importance of not doing so. Hecate had revealed that her old acquaintance Hercules would in the near future be required byEurytheus to bring the living dog to him as verification of completing another of his labours. It would apparently mess up the past or the future if Sonja killed Cerebus and that change might benefit their unknown enemies. As to how she could get past the creature without killing it, however, Sonja didn't have a clue. "Nice doggie," said Sonja stopping a few yards in front of Cerebus, who rose to his feet and literally glared fire at her. "I don't suppose you want to just stand aside and let me pass?" Sonja was not expecting an answer, verbal or otherwise, so she was surprised when Cerebus gave a shake of its massive head and then returned to glaring at her. "How about a good ear scratching or some of the nice salted meat I have in my supplies?" she asked hopefully. Once more the dog shook its head. "Well, I don't suppose you have any suggestions?" snapped a frustrated Sonja, once more not expecting an answer and not even certain she had interpreted the head shakes properly. Just how intelligent was this thing anyway? This time, again to Sonja's surprise, Cerebus nodded his head up and down instead of shaking it. "You do?" replied Sonja. "Do you expect me to play twenty questions like some child with its nanny to guess your idea?" she asked sarcastically. Cerebus shook its head and gave a soft bark, though a soft bark from each of three heads produced a sound that echoed off the walls of the cavern. Sonja's draw dropped when she saw three large, red, erect dog cocks start to slide into view under Cerebus. He wasn't just triple headed, he was also triple dicked. "Oh fuck, you aren't kidding," groaned Sonja as she continued to watch the massive dripping cocks continue to grow. Cerebus shook his head No. "Bulls, rams and lions," gritted Sonja as she began to once more divest herself of her skimpy armour. "I suppose I shouldn't object to a fucking dog." Cerebus cocked his head at her words and then gave it another shake. "I assume you like it doggie style," muttered Sonja as she got down on her hands and knees and lifted her shapely round ass in the air. The huge beast moved to stand over Sonja and she felt the three hot spears of flesh rubbing over her bare skin and dripping precum onto her. Sonja felt one of the massive cocks probing at her pussy and another one at her anus and realized what the beast intended a second before she was double impaled. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,!" gasped Sonja as she felt the dog's two large cocks slide into her. Cerebus's large forepaws were just in front of Sonja's shoulders and helped to hold her in place as the animal began to drive in and out of her. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh," moaned Sonja, unable to help herself as Cerebus fucked her. Despite the latest humiliation, those huge cocks driving in and out of her ass and pussy began to feel damn good, so Sonja just closed her eyes and let her body go for the pleasure ride. "This also covers the exit price right?" asked Sonja as she suddenly thought about her planned return trip to the surface and her prepaid deal with the old ferryman. Cerebus stopped humping her for a moment and stood there drooling on her neck. Without it saying anything, Sonja got the impression that the answer to that question was a "No". "Well, I think I am going to be too busy running to stop for a repeat," snapped Sonja. "So do you have another suggestion in that little doggie mind of yours?" Looking up, Sonja saw Cerebus nod its head and give another bark. "Oh fuck no," gasped Sonja realizing suddenly what the beast meant. Her guess was confirmed a few seconds later when the animal's third and so far unused cock began to push its way into her already occupied pussy, stretching it to what Sonja felt was impossibly wide. "Aaaaaaeeeeeeiiiioooooouuuuu!!!!!" she screamed in a combination of pain and pleasure that were hard to tell apart at the moment as the third huge cock entered her body and Cerebus began to thrust in and out of her again. "Fuck, couldn't you have settled for a nice belly rub?" moaned Sonja as her large breasts swung back and forth in time to the violent thrusts of the dog. Cerebus gave out a howl as it felt itself near its triple climax and Sonja braced herself on the rocky ground with her hands as she tried to absorb the impact of the beast's ramming. That bracing probably kept her from being shot across the cavern floor and smashing into goddess knew what when the three high pressure jets of cum began to blast into her. The creature's cum was warm, almost hot and it seemed to shoot outin an almost endless amount. The warrior woman felt her ass and pussy fill with the thick goo and that finally pushed the three doggie dicks out of her body, still spurting cum that rained down on her back and blasted her tits until they disappeared under a thick white coating. Dripping cum from her violated orifices, Sonja staggered to her feet and once more put on her armour. Walking a little bow legged, Sonja could feel the dog cum sloshing around in the cups of her top as she walked past a smug looking Cerebus and down the tunnel into Hades. * * * After walking down the broad tunnel for what seemed like miles, Sonja came to a circular area from which there were three openings to choose from. The passage to the left seemed to go on level and when Sonja listened carefully, she thought she could hear the very faint sounds of music and laughter. That seemed out of place in this dismal underworld, but Sonja's own homeland had stories of an afterlife where great warriors who died heroically would go where there was a never ending supply of wine and virgins. Sonja could see where there might be an infinite amount of wine, but not so much for the virgins. Besides, where did the women go? Was there some kind of kitchen in hell where the beleaguered wives and the old women gathered to talk and make meals for the heroic oafs? The rightmost passage seemed to slope downwards at a steep grade. The air coming from it was hot and when Sonja listened carefully, she thought she heard screaming and moaning. Hecate had told her about the pits of Hades called Tartarus and Red Sonja guessed that was what lay down that passage. That left the middle passage which seemed to be level like the left hand passage, but there was absolutely no sound coming from it. That seemed like the best option and the red haired swordswoman strode down the middle passage where now and then a torch burned in a sconce on the wall to provide a small bit of light. Sonja emerged into what was clearly a throne room of some sort, though the only object that proclaimed its purpose was the large, black and empty throne. Sonja was wondering what to do next as this chamber seemed a dead end, when she felt a hand brush across her back. With a cry, Sonja whipped around, but the clasp on her top had been undone and her bikini top flew off to land on the ground, exposing her still cum coated boobs. In the cool air, her large pink nipples were more of a red in the torchlight and looked like a couple of cherries on top of icecream as they poked through the drying jizz. "What the fuck?" asked Sonja, hand still on her sword hilt as she looked around the still empty room. A moment later, an invisible hand smashed into her gut driving the wind from her lungs and bending her over clutching her stomach in agony. Sonja felt large, strong and invisible hands grip her shoulders and force her onto her knees. She struggled against her unseen assailant, but he was extremely strong and her choice of pronoun was proved correct when she felt a hard, meaty object slap her on one cheek and then the other, leaving a few drops of liquid behind. Sonja was still fighting to regain her breath when her mouth was pried open and she felt and tasted the familiar presence of a cock as it was shoved past her lips. She gagged a bit as the still unseen hands grasped the back of her head and yanked her head forward, burying the cock to its hilt in her throat. A soft moan of pleasure escaped invisible lips and the rapist began to pull Sonja's face up and down his throbbing member. Sonja had about had it with her treatment in this underworld She might assist her lover Killia in her devotions to Clitoria, goddess of whores, but she was at heart a warrior and she suddenly slammed her head forward into the gut of her unseen assailant. There was a loud "hoof" and as the hands fell from her head, Sonja yanked her mouth free of the cock and swung a fist in the general direction of where she took the man's head to be. Her knuckles connected with something metal which stung, but there was a sudden flash of light and suddenly her attacker was there, visible in front of her. The warrior woman gave the man a shove and he stumbled a few steps backward as she rose to her feet and drew her sword. "who are you that you dare strike the lord of Hades?" demanded the man as he straightened to his full height. He was a large, muscular man with a bald head and a neatly trimmed black beard. He was dressed in all black robes and would have been very imposing if his now semi flacid dick wasn't hanging out in the open. On the ground near his feet was a metal helmet which Sonja surmised was what she had hit with her fist and which must have provided the cloak of invisibility for him. "I am Red Sonja, the finest swordswoman in the world," she proclaimed proudly. "Never bloody heard of you," muttered the man as he took another few steps back and tucked his cock back under his robes. "So what is the reason for your presence in my land? I am curious to learn what it is before I send you to everlasting torture in Tartarus." Red Sonja didn't flinch, but just stood there topless and glowering at the man. "And I would like to know the name of the man whose head I am about to cleave from his shoulders." The man looked affronted. "I said I am the master of Hades and you have the stupidity to ask my name? I am Hades girl!" Sonja looked slightly confused at this. "You are Hades? I thought that was the name of this land?" "The land is me and I am the land," replied Hades haughtily. "Now answer my question about your purpose here girl before I lose my patience." "You have kidnapped the goddess Persephone, and I have come to retrieve her," replied Sonja as she met the god's eyes without flinching. "What?" said Hades and now it was his turn to look confused. "I thought my dear brother Zeus would send someone like Hecate or Hermes to annoy me, not some stupid mortal cow." With an effort, Sonja controlled her temper which was yelling at her to run this asshole through with her sword. "There are things going on that you seem unaware of. Zeus did indeed send Hecate and Hermes to retrieve Persephone,, but they were waylaid by some unknown enemy. I take it from the surprised look on your face that you didn't know anything about that?" Hades shook his head. "I am Hades, I am sufficient unto myself girl and need the help of no one, god or mortal." "Nice words," replied Sonja, "but if this enemy is strong enough to assail two gods as strong as them, are you so sure in your own power?" Sonja saw the brief look of uncertainty cross Hades's face and she sighed and sheathed her sword to further try and deescalate the situation. Damn, I am getting soft, she thought as she did so. "I've had versions of this conversation with both Zeus and Hera, neither of whom wanted to listen to me. Perhaps you are wiser than they are?" "I am inclined to think this is merely some trick of yours to try and deceive me," snapped Hades. "Exactly how would such a lie help me to rescue Persephone?" challenged Sonja. "You are the ruler of the underworld. Have you had any dead come to you lately courtesy of green scaled snake men?" Hades frowned. "Snake men?" he echoed and then his expression took on a faraway look as if he were querying someone or some thing. "Yes," he said finally after a few minutes. "My judges tell me that there have been several among the newly dead who talked about such creatures, but that is not possible. He is securely locked up." "Who?" demanded Sonja. "No, it is not possible that it could be him," said Hades giving his head a shake. "I shall verify that for myself. "Now as to the matter of your goal in coming to my realm, I shall be magnaminious and let you leave. It is rare that any warrior can win their way to my throne room, and never has a woman done so." "Sorry, but I am not leaving without Persephone," returned Sonja and her hand went once more to her sword hilt. "I shall be very glad to go with one so beautiful," said a soft female voice and Sonja turned to see a auburn haired woman enter the throne room from a passage behind the black throne which she had not been able to see before. "I forbid you to leave me," cried Hades. ""My brother Zeus has the sky and my brother Poseidon has the sea. All I have is this dark underworld and I have chosen you to share it with me. It is the least I am owed." Persephone shook her head. "You and your brothers drew lots for the division of the cosmos. I was not a part of that lottery and I did not come here willingly." "Knowing Zeus, he probably cheated me," yelled Hades. "Besides, you cannot go, I have seen to that." "I know the rules," replied Persephone. "I have neither ate nor drank while in your realm. You cannot hold me." "Ah, but there you are wrong," gloated Hades. "While you slept, I dropped a single pomegranate seed between your parted lips which you swallowed reflexively. One seed or an entire banquet, it matters not. You cannot leave hades." Persephone went pale at these words and suddenly looked on the verge of tears and could not speak. "You are a fuking idiot Hades," Sonja snapped at him. "She is the goddess of the spring. If she stays here, the world will die as will all who live on it." "And what do I care about that?" demanded Hades. "Persephone will still be mine and all the dead shall join my realm to increase my power." "And once the world is dead and all its people, that will be the end of it," retorted Sonja. "You will spend the rest of eternity here with no more dead to swell your realm. You will have no purpose, no function. What happens to a god who has no longer a function in the world?" Hades suddenly turned as pale as Persephone had a few moments earlier. "I, I had not thought of that," he admitted. "But, what is done cannot be undone." "You cannot undo it or will not?" asked Sonja. "It was only one seed. Surely someone as powerful as you and someone as powerful as Zeus claims to be can set it aside." "Perhaps, but not totally," agreed Hades after some thought. "Well if it cannot be totally set aside, then perhaps Persephone can split her time between your realm and the world above," suggested Sonja. "She must come forth in spring to bring her blessings to the world. In winter she can return to you." "That would be acceptable," said Hades reluctantly. He turned to Persephone. "Please my lady. I know my realm might seem gloomy and devoid of beauty at first, but there are many heroes and minstrels and more among the dead. They can tell stories of their valour and sing songs to move a maiden's heart. Perhaps in time, you might even come to love me." "Perhaps," Persephone conceded. "Your actions seem to have left me little choice but to make the attempt. For now, I shall go with this warrior and speak to Zeus. You have my word that I shall return when winter draws nigh." * * * After retrieving her top, Sonja and Persephone walked out of the throne room, leaving a pensive Hades sitting on his black throne. When they reached Cerebus, the beast did not rise from its crouched position. "I marvel that the beast does not seek to stop us,"said Persephone. "We, er came to an agreement," mutteredSonja as they walked to the shore of theStyx. The damn dog winked at Sonja and seemed to smirk. Persephone was evenmore amazed when Charon readily agreed toconvey them across the dread river. The goddess sat blushing in the stern of the boat as Sonja crouched in the bow sucking on Charon's cock as he poled with great vigour. He blew his load down Sonja's throat just as the boat bumped into the sandy shore. "I don't think anyone has ever paid the ferryman in such a unique fashion," murmered Persephone as Sonja got to her feet, wiping a few drops of cum from her lips with the back of her hand and helping the goddess from the boat. "You have to be creative in my line of work," muttered Sonja as she began to lead the goddess up the tunnel to the surface. They had only taken a few steps,however when Hecate and a strange man appeared. The man was wearing a large, wide brimmed hat with wings on it and likewise there were a pair of wings on his sandals. Hecate,for her part was carring a pair of torches. "Ah, there you are Red Sonja," said Hecate. "I have recovered from my wound and when Hermes finallyarrived, we set out to rescue fair Persephone. I see, however, that we are not needed and you have saved us the labour." "Hades and I came to an agreement," said Sonja. "Persephone will fill you in on it." Hecate looked puzzled, but did not press for more details, but gestured to Hermes. "My companion was delayed by those same snake men who attacked me." "They caught me by surprise and in large numbers," said Hermes, speaking for the first time. "They learned the error of their way and none may prevent the messenger of the gods from going where he will, but they did delay my arrival. My apologies for my tardyness fair one. It is rare that Hermes is ever late for anything." Sonja started to reply then stopped as the world around her began to grow misty. Apparently this latest vision was at an end, but she hoped her warnings of danger would start to be heeded by the gods. * * * When the mist faded again, Sonja found herself in a blindingly white room that made her eyes start to tear up. "oops, sorry about that," said a female voice that Sonja couldn't see through the liquid film on her eyes. "I will just turn down the whole virgin thing a notch or two." A moment later, the brightness was down to a bearable level and after dashing the tears from her eyes, Sonja took a cautious look around. Everything in the room seemed white from the thick, soft carpet underfoot to the white stone walls and the only bit of furniture which was a white metal throne. The woman sitting in it was also dressed also in a white hooded robe that shaded her face from view. "Who the hell are you?" demanded Sonja. "Ah, you don't recognize me?" replied the woman and she gave a small laugh before pulling back her hood to reveal the face of Sonja's own goddess, or so she perceived it at first. On closer examination, there were small differences that were hard to identify. "My goddess?" asked Sonja in obvious confusion. "Well yes and no," replied the woman. "I was once upon a time your goddess, or maybe that is in the future yet? The whole linear time thing is sometimes hard even for a goddess to understand since it is not natural to us, but necessary for mortals." "Pardon me for not understanding," replied Sonja, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice out of respect for someone who might or might not be her goddess. "I shall do my best to explai," replied the woman with a smile. "You were born in an age long before that of Zeus and the other gods of his era that you have met on your recent adventures. Gods may be immortal, but that does not mean unchanging. The land too can change drastically over time through slow processes and sometimes by cataclysm. One of the latter was so severe that little or nothing of your time is remembered by the time of Zeus and the other Olympians. Gods as I said never die, but we do take on new forms as belief changes. Sometimes gods take on new names and roles, divide to form new gods or combine with other gods as needed. I am in large part your former goddess, but as you have noticed, not totally. As a virgin goddess who sought to protect women, some of my nature can be found in others such as Athena and Artimas. I took on the name of Astrea for a while, before leaving Olympus to take up residence here in this realm that bears my new name of Virgo." "So you are part of the order of the Zodiac?" asked Sonja. "I have to admit as a group, they haven't exactly impressed me or made me want to swear devotion to one of their kind." "I am sure you might say the same about the Olympian gods," replied Virgo with a smile. "Not all of my order are as unpleasant as those you have met. Cancer was a gentle soul," and Virgo's face became suddenly sad. "I am hoping you will find a way to restore him, though I cannot foresee how this might be done." "What exactly are the Zodiac?" asked Sonja. "When I first met Taurus, Aries and Gemini, I took them to be nothing more than powerful, but mortal wizards. Now, you seem to describe them as gods." "Some are, or were, or will be," replied Virgo. "Areies for one is a son of Zeus and worshipped as the God of War. Or perhaps that is another of those things yet to come? He is, however, not in great favour among the Olympians and so like me has taken up abode in his own land as part of the Zodiac." "Yeah, he is a real asshole," replied Sonja, "so I can see them not wanting him around, though to be honest Zeus and some of the others are just as big of a jerk." "Perhaps," agreed Virgo, "but they are the ones in power now. No one said that rulers must always be wise or good. Still, they are better than some who would contend for that power and rule." "I still don't understand the purpose though of the Zodiac," said Sonja. "Surely it is more than a place for former or disgruntled gods to exist. I have been subjected to visions when travelling to all of the Zodiac realms. What is that all about?" "I said before that belief is critical to the gods," said Virgo. "As mortals looked up into the heavens, they began to see patterns among the stars. In their interactions with mortals, the gods gave those patterns names and told the stories behind them, so in a sense they put the constellations in the heavens. Mortals began to believe in the power of those constellations to predict and make sense of the world around them. That created the realms of the Zodiac and thus required a ruler for each realm. Some of the Zodiac rulers are gods, were gods, or, will be gods. Some were other immortal beings who adopted to the role and some, such as Taurus, were even mortals who gained an immortal status." "And the visions I have experienced?" persisted Sonja. Virgo shook her head. "That, even I do not know. They do not stem from the necklace that Gemini gave you, that I know for certain. They are imposed by another power, but who that power is, or what their exact motive is, I am not sure. They seem meant to teach you things that you will need to know on your quest or for you to perform certain required actions such as your rescue of Persephone. I am hopeful that the power behind your visions is allied to our cause, but I am not totally certain of that." "Just who is our enemy then?" asked Sonja. "Hades seemed to have a name in mind, but he wouldn't name him or her." "Given the snake like nature of his minions and Hades's role as lord of the underworld and jailer of the pits of Tartarus, I suspect he meant Typhon," replied Virgo. "He is a foul serpantine monster, but he is also confined to Tartarus so it cannot be him. If he were once more loose upon the universe, we would surely know it as only the unmatchable power of Zeus's thunderbolts defeated him when none else could stand before him, even heroes such as Hercules." "So, that leaves us with some powerful foe whose identity we are still ignorant of," replied Sonja and Virgo nodded in agreement. "I don't see anything to do then, but to continue my tour of the Zodiac realms to try and learn more about the nature and intent of that unknown enemy." Virgo nodded her agreement and then gave Sonja a worried look. "The next realm for you to visit is that of Libra, a close friend of mine. I have lost all contact with her and that concerns me greatly." "A good place to set a trap then," commented Sonja with a grimace and touched her necklace to activate it. "Well, they won't find Red Sonja as easy to deal with as they might think!" "I hope not," replied Virgo, "or the goddess I was, or will be, will not be happy with me for allowing any harm to come to you." Sonja nodded and stepped through the portal that had opened. End of Part Seven [Author's Note: In doing research, there seems to be some debate as to who is represented in the Virgo constellation and whether it is meant to represent a virgin even. The Persephone story seems to be the most common explanation and this chapter follows it pretty faithfully other than Sonja's involvement as Hecate and Hermes are the ones who lead Persephone from the underworld. In the original, it is Zeus and not Sonja of course who comes up with the idea of Persephone splitting her time between above ground and the underworld. Hades is said to have tricked Persephone into eating a pomagranite seed, though it is never said how, so I had him make use of his helmet of invisibility which is part of his myth. The other strong contender for the representation of Virgo is the goddess Astrea, who is said to be the last god to leave Earth for Mount Olympus. She is the goddess of virtue and innocence, which fits with the Virgo = Virgin idea. One problem with both Persephone and Astrea is the close association of Virgo with Libra whose symbol is the scales of justice. In fact, there was atime when Virgo and Libra were considered one constellation with a woman holding the scales of justice. It isn't clear how either Persephone or Astrea fits into this close connection between Virgo and Libra. There is no real myth for the origin of Libra as there are for the other zodiac constellations, it is simply the scales of justice. That is proving to be a bit of a writing challenge for the next chapter!] "